Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) is a clinically proven technology that has been safely used since the turn of the twentieth century and has become an established treatment procedure for a wide range of human ailments. The following disorders have been shown to respond to hyperbaric oxygen therapy: air or gas embolism, burns, frostbite, carbon monoxide, acute smoke inhalation, crush injury, compartmental syndrome, cyanide poisoning, extensive blood loss, gas gangrene, compromised skin grafts or flaps, and healing wounds.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a medical treatment in which the patient is entirely enclosed in a pressure chamber breathing 100% oxygen at a pressure greater than 1 atmosphere. Breathing 100% oxygen at 1 atmosphere is not considered hyperbaric oxygenation, nor is topical application of oxygen outside a pressurized chamber.
HBO physically dissolves extra oxygen into the blood plasma and tissues. Breathing pure oxygen at 2.5 times normal pressure (2.5 ATA) causes a twelve-fold increase in dissolved oxygen in the plasma compared with breathing at atmospheric pressure. Increased oxygen pressure has been demonstrated to induce formation of new capillaries in ischemic or poorly perfused wounds. Hyperoxygenation is useful in the treatment of ischemic tissue as well as compromised chronic wounds, flaps, and grafts. It is also useful in specific infections.
High pressure oxygen causes constriction of the blood vessels in normal tissue without creating hypoxia. However, it does not cause constriction in previously oxygen-deprived tissue. HBO is useful in crush injury and other traumatic ischemic injuries, since it clearly reduces the adherence of white cells to capillary walls, consequently relieving the "no reflow" condition. Reducing of edema is a major benefit of HBO as a result of its preservation of high energy phosphate bonds in the cells. It is also important in preventing progression of deep second degree burns to full thickness injury requiring grafting.
Most of the bodies bacterial defense mechanisms are oxygen dependent. HBO is particularly effective in patients where resistance factors have been compromised, such as dysvascular conditions and immunosuppression disorders. HBO therapy inhibits the growth of a number of anaerobic organisms and enhances the white cell killing of aerobic organisms. The effect of HBO on white cells can double or triple their bacteria-killing ability.
Although the use of HBO therapy has been used for the above-noted human ailments, a new and effective use of HBO has recently been found for treating various illnesses effecting household pets, such as dogs, cats, birds, and other small animals. Since household pets are smaller than their human counterparts, the hyperbaric oxygen chamber which is used to treat the animals can be smaller and more compact. Additionally, since many different species of animals can benefit from the use of the hyperbaric oxygen chamber, the conditions within the chamber must be varied according to the species of animal contained within.
Most current hyperbaric oxygen chambers contain a control system which monitors the pressure of oxygen being supplied to the chamber and controls the amount of gas exiting the chamber. The control systems used in many of hyperbaric oxygen chambers contain a complex series of measuring and control devices to monitor several pressures associated with the hyperbaric chamber. Although these control systems adequately control the pressure within the chamber and the rate of flow of oxygen into and out of the chamber, these systems are often overly complicated and do not provide an efficient method of protecting the chamber occupant upon a clinical emergency.
In many hyperbaric oxygen chambers, the control system for controlling the oxygen flow and pressure within the chamber is permanently fixed to the outer surface of the hyperbaric chamber. If the control system needs to be adjusted or repaired, a service technician must work on the control system as it is mounted to the hyperbaric chamber, since the physical size of the hyperbaric chamber makes moving the entire chamber to the manufacturer or service department impractical for repairs.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that a hyperbaric oxygen chamber having a control system which is securely mounted to the hyperbaric chamber while at the same time being easily removable for service would be desirable.